Santa Fe school district will be first in the country to adopt new anti-intruder tech

Joy WangJune 15, 2018 10:43 PM

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – This fall a New Mexico school district will be the first in the country to debut a new way of fortifying school classrooms against potential shooters.

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The device takes about 10 minutes to install and less than a second to activate, and by the time school starts back up it'll be on the doors of every classroom in Santa Fe Public Schools.

It all started in 2012 when Ed Johnson of Campus Safety Products and wife, Sita, were looking for ways to protect her daughter who was living alone in another country.

"Never came across anything that we were very satisfied with," he said. "Sandy Hook happened, (and) long that time we came together (and) just decided there was definitely something that was a design in mind."

That idea took hold, and after years of trial and error, RhinoWare was born.

In less than a second, a single flick engages the device which then prevents anyone from getting through the door it's installed on.

"The objective here is, even under severe duress, just by touching the device with your finger or with your toe it automatically goes into the floorplate and it's locked down," Johnson said. "And once it's locked down there's absolutely no getting through that door without ripping out the doorframe."

First responders, principals and other trusted officials will have access to a tactical breach tool that can disengage the RhinoWare.

Johnson said he now spends at least half of his 365 days a traveling to talk smarter security at schools, hospitals, churches and elsewhere.

"We had no idea the level of interest that there would be among other sectors, (including) the military. We're in Fort Knox, the Navy Seal headquarters in Coronado, Navy Special Operations. We're in every casino in Atlantic City," he said.

They're currently working with North Carolina State University to find out just how strong the device is, as well as talking to other businesses and school districts in New Mexico about installing the product in their buildings.

"Today we have version 3, and Santa Fe Public Schools is the first school district to have the product installed in all the schools," Johnson said.